Buddha and the Safety Prayer

You aren’t supposed to talk about religion or politics in a work setting. All of that is out the window now.

See this week, the White Sox pulled off nothing short of a miracle when after three straight seasons of 100+ losses, they not only became the first team in the 150 year old history of baseball to make the playoffs after such follies, but defeated the Houston Astros in the first round of the American League playoffs. When asked if the letter from Pope Leo XIV giving abundant blessings really came Tuesday before the team’s playoff victory, owner Jerry Reinsdorf said the legend is the truth. “Imagine a Jewish kid from Brooklyn getting a letter from the Pope,” he said. “I might convert.”

So if it’s ok for Jerry to talk religion, why not me?!? I too, on my recent trip to the far east, had a life-changing spiritual awakening! We took a photo at the Haedong Younggung Temple by the statue of Traffic Safety Prayer Pagoda. This South Korean Temple had lots of prayer boxes by various statues, shrines, or pagodas. There is the golden wish, happy belly rubbing, prosperity prayer, wishing pond, academic achievement, and more. After the photo, we were shuffled along with other tourists and moved along to the next section down the stairs. It was raining. People were jammed, advancing up and down. I heard a yelp behind me. My wife slipped and twisted her knee something awful. We carried her off to a local tea shop. If only we had made a donation to the Traffic Safety prayer Pagoda. Who needs belief when I now have solid proof!

Sometimes, it pays to pony up. People who fail to do so when purchasing or selling a home, can get rubbed the wrong way. Here are 8 Items that will cost you a sale.

1. Pre-inspection

Sellers who cheap out and don’t do a pre-inspection risk the Buyer finding out the ugglies. If there are too many items to fix, they might outright cancel. Or they ask for credit with the most expensive contractor possible.

2. Staging
Nobody wants to put money into things they personally don’t get enjoyment out of. But if the Buyer can’t visualize what it looks like, its like stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime.

3. Incentives

Buyers most often have their agents ask if there is an incentive for compensation. If there isn’t, the Buyer could tell the agent to pass on the house.

4. Assessments

Sellers who don’t pay special assessments can find the Buyer fraught with anger over feeling they have been hoodwinked into another cost.

5. Private Listing

A listing agent might push this with the incentive of double dipping and making more money for themselves. They’ll tell you that you can test the market, and you won’t have people trampling though your home. I got word for you. You can’t test a market if not everyone is included in the market. And you want people trampling through your home. If you want the best price, open it up to all.

6. Not doing open houses

Again, why would you want to keep your house a secret? People go shopping on Sunday. The buyer might come in directly, or see an ad and want a visit during the week. Or a nosey neighbor sees it and tells a friend. Open houses work.

7. Not making the house accessible

There are some Sellers who always renegotiate the showing time. I can’t do it on Tuesday at 2pm but how about 11:30am on Wednesday? Half of these people cancel or never show up. It also gives a signal that you are difficult.

8. Too many exclusions
The magic number is two. Most buyers will grant you a freebee of taking a chandelier or wall attachment. Anything more than that and start expecting to pay more than the item is worth.

As for Veronica, she iced her knee and had a miraculous recovery. Thank goodness I rubbed the belly of the healing Buddha earlier that day.